Review: Wonder

Title: Wonder

Author: R.J.
Palacio

Publisher: Knopf
Books for Young Readers

Year: 2012

Hardcover: 320 pages

Ages: 8 – 12

IBSN:
978-0375869020

Summary

Wonder by R.J. Palacio is the story of an extraordinary
and resilient kid named August Pullman, who was born with extreme facial
deformities. Auggie is 10 years old and has never gone to school. He has been
homeschooled because of all the surgeries he has had since he was born. Isabel
Pullman, his mother, thinks it is time for him to attend school. Nate Pullman,
his father, is not sure sending him to school is a good idea, but he ultimately
agrees with his wife.

Auggie is set to attend fifth grade at Beecher
Prep. He and his mother go to a meeting with Mr. Tushman, the Middle School
Director. Mr. Tushman asks three kids – Jack Will, Charlotte, and Julian – to give
him a school's tour. According to the Middle School Director, he chose these
three kids because they are among the nicest kids in his grade. Julian,
however, shows signs of not being that nice during the tour. He is one of those
kids that acts nicely in front of adults and misbehaves behind them.

Although resistant to the idea of going to
school at first, Auggie decides he is going to attend Beecher Prep after all.
The story focuses on how the school's children and their parents react to
Auggie's facial deformities. August goes through some unpleasing and negative
experiences at school, but stays resilient in the face of adversity.

Despite being superficially different from other
kids, August is a normal kid. He is smart, funny, and a good son, brother, and
friend. He likes Star Wars and his favorite holiday is Halloween. He has an
amazing and loving family. He also makes some wonderful friends throughout his
first year at school.

This book is mainly about showing kindness to
one another and placing oneself in the shoes of another person. It questions
our values and priorities. What would you do if you encountered someone like
August? How would you treat them? Would you be kind? How much value do you
place on the superficial?

Friendship is another significant theme throughout
the story. The real meaning of friendship is put to the test. Would you defend
a friend when the rest of the group bullies them? Would you stand your ground
or follow the crowd?

Comments(*Spoilers*
from here on.)

Resiliency

I was impressed with the subject matter of this
book because not often one finds a book in which the main character has extreme
deformities or disabilities. In Auggie's case, he has severe facial deformities,
and people usually stare at him or react with horror. However, he is so strong
and resilient that he has gotten used to it.

Auggie's attitude reminds me of the amazing
Malala, whose face suffered injuries after being shot by the Taliban. Malala's
mother would tell her that people were staring at her. Malala would respond
saying that it doesn’t matter because she stares back.

At the beginning of the story, Auggie is not
quite there yet and keeps looking to the floor, but at the end of the book he
definitely comes out more strong than before. His resiliency increases every
time something bad happens to him. This attitude is admirable, and we can learn
something from him.

Superficiality

Julian and his mother, Melissa, represent the
superficial people of this world. Julian is popular, handsome, and comes from a
wealthy family. Nevertheless, appearances can be deceiving. He behaves nicely
in front of adults, but behind them he turns into a naughty boy. He is two-faced,
meaning he is not a genuine person. He makes Auggie suffer throughout the year.

Of all the things that he did, the one that I
found the cruelest and nastiest was his disguised comment about Darth Sidious.
That was just horrible because he was pretending to be nice in front of the
teacher and classmates, but sending a nasty message in reality.

Julian's mother is the worst. One can assume Julian
learned his behavior from her. She photshops Auggie from the class' album. Say
what?! What kind of human being does something like that? She doesn’t even bother
to RSVP to Auggie's birthday. She sends an email to Mr. Tushman telling him
making the kids befriend Auggie was "too much pressure." Not only
that, she dares to throw a party during the holidays in which she and her son
tell everyone Jack Will punched Julian because he could not deal with the
pressure of being Auggie's friend.

Julian and his mother are unable to show
kindness to Auggie. Unfortunately, this type of people are always present in
our lives. Like Auggie, we have to learn how to deal with them.

Peer
pressure

One can observe the theme of peer pressure in
the friendship between Jack Will and Auggie. Jack Will is one of the three kids
Mr. Tushman chose to give Auggie the school's tour. At the beginning, it seems
as if they are going to be good friends because Jack Will defends Auggie from
Julian.

Sadly, Jack Will succumbs to peer pressure from
Julian and his friends, who mock him for being Auggie's friend. I was in tears
when Auggie, dressed as the Bleeding Scream, heard Jack Will saying he would
kill himself if he looked like that. Of course, Auggie distances from Jack
Will. This is the point when their friendship is put to the test.

Peer pressure is also seen in the way the
majority of the school's children behave toward Auggie, even playing that they
might catch the plague if they touch him. Children in middle school and high
school often prefer to follow the crowd because they want to belong. I think
the author presented this reality very well. These are difficult years in
children's lives.

Friendship

Summer is the personification of friendship.
Although she started being friends with Auggie because she felt sorry for him,
the important thing is that she dared to sit with him despite what anybody
thought. She decided to get to know him and discovered he was a really nice,
smart, and funny kid. She remained his friend for the right reasons too. She
felt she could be herself around him.

Summer lost her dad to in the war. I was so
glad the author chose this event as Summer's backstory because usually people who
know about suffering are the ones who can show more empathy and kindness toward
others.

As stated above, Jack Will's friendship with
Auggie is put to the test. However, Jack Will thinks things through and sees
Julian for what he really is. He ends up standing his ground and defending
Auggie from Julian.

Family

The theme of family is important in this book
too. Auggie has a beautiful family. They go the extra mile for him. His parents
and his sister, Via, adore him. They truly care for him in a way not many
parents, sisters, and brothers care. Via's boyfriend, Justin, observes this.
Auggie might have not gotten on the right side of genetics, but he was blessed
with an amazing family.

Justin says my favorite lines of the book:

"no, no, it's not all random, if it really
was all random, the universe would abandon us completely, and the universe
doesn't. it takes care of its most fragile creations in ways we can't see. like
with parents who adore you blindly. and a big sister who feels guilty for being
human over you…"

Mistakes

We are human beings; therefore, we all make
mistakes. What is important is to acknowledge them and rectify our actions. Characters
rectify their actions throughout the story.

Via loves his brother, but she also has
resentment because of all the attention he has received from their mother. She
also doesn’t want people in her new school to know about Auggie because she doesn’t
want to be known just for being the sister of someone with facial deformities.
For these reasons, she doesn’t want Auggie to attend her school's play. She,
however, feels guilty about these feelings. At the end, she changes her mind and acts
lovingly as always. Auggie goes to watch her school's play. Via gets to play
the main character and she gets a standing ovation.

Jack Will rectifies his behavior when he stands
up to Julian. Even Miles and Henry rectify their behavior when they help Jack
Will defend Auggie from the bullies at the nature retreat. The children of the
school overall rectify their behavior toward Auggie after they learn what
happened at the nature retreat.

Characters rectifying their behavior is a sign
of hope. It shows that we make mistakes, but also can think about our actions
and change them. We can choose to be kind.

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